Stephen Hunt (in yellow) of the American Cancer Society instructs volunteers during a CPS-3 sign-up at the Stratton Building in Springfield on May 1, 2013. The Society will accept participants for the study throughout 2013. (Chris Slaby/WUIS)

Springfield resident Lisa Hopper says she’s lost her father, an uncle, and one of her best friends to cancer. She says she signed up for the project…

HOPPER: “In memory of them, and also if the study helps find a cure for cancer in the future, yay yay.”

The Cancer Prevention Study, or CPS-3, is the third study of its kind.

People between 30 and 65 who have not been diagnosed with cancer sign-up and have their lives monitored for 20 to 30 years to see if any cancer causes can be determined.

Stephen Hunt from the American Cancer Society said this includes monitoring where the volunteers live, what they eat, and for the first time, their genetic makeup.

Hunt says with blood samples being taken…

HUNT: “Potentially if someone is this program gets diagnosed with cancer, they’ve got a pre-cancerous blood draw that they could then compare to a post-diagnosis blood draw, and maybe find out things along those lines.”

Hunt says the goal is to have 300-thousand people nationally sign-up for the study – with about eight-thousand from Illinois.